The Light of a Friend

If there is one thing we hate to deal with, it’s the one thing nobody can escape in life. Death. Every man, woman and child will lose people around them that they love. It is the single one thing that can cause people to evaluate their own life and see the changes they want to make.

Today I found out I lost an old friend. I hadn’t talked to him in sometime and had the chance recently, but due to budget constraints we decided not to drive the few hundred miles out of the way and followed our decided road map. This was a month and a half ago. I’m fairly certain my visiting would not have done anything to change his fate. Retrospectively it would have been nice to see him one last time and there is now regret for not taking the detour.

I make no lies that growing up I was the geek. The nerd. I hold no grudges about any of that. When I left home it is where I met the friends that I knew I would never forget, even if we don’t talk as much as we used to. I was closeted, shelled and hid myself away. It was the “gobs” that broke me out of that shell. It was they that gave me a place to belong. Each one of them played a pivotal role in me becoming who I am today.

In this case it was Steve, our King Lear. He was socially awkward sometimes and unique in a positive way that nobody could ever match. He could brighten a room just by being there. It was something I have long since tried but even now it still requires some effort. Steve could do it just by being here, just by being himself. The are no words to really describe how much just being himself, helped me become a better person. The world may not understand the loss it suffered in July of 2014.

Rest In Peace Steve, the world may never know a more caring and kindly heart than yours.